


Hot Mess

by Lileaf_owo



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: AU, America is the hero, Bullying, England yells a lot, Eventual Fluff, F/F, Hetalia, High School AU, I made up names for the less popular nyos tho, Internalized Homophobia, Lovehate, Minor lietpol, Nyo America - Freeform, Nyo russia, Nyotalia, Russia is the villain, Sex Jokes, The protagonist is the antagonist, There’s other ships too but Rusame is the main one, They’re all genderbent, genderbent, nyo - Freeform, some violence, well not exactly ;)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:54:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 10,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22865167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lileaf_owo/pseuds/Lileaf_owo
Summary: Just as Amelia was downing her fifth can of coke she spotted a tall, soft-faced girl, making her way to school with magazines in her arms. What she didn’t know was what this girl was truly capable of.
Relationships: America/Russia (Hetalia)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21





	1. Cage

The sky was obsidian besides a single, motionless star buried in its depths. The icy air bit Anya's face as she stood beneath an empty bus stop. 

The hour trickled glue onto her shiny eyes and dragged her mind away from her body. It felt so peaceful yet so lonely. The girl couldn't help but wonder, what the wind would feel like if someone undoubtedly dear moved a little too close, grazed her hand with theirs. Would the winter feel more like fall? Perhaps even spring? Or would her body feel even more frozen than it was already?

The long-haired girl sighed a small cloud. Her bus just arrived.

As she stood in the bus, her mind felt like an uncomfortably heavy stone to carry. It'd be wonderful if she could drop it off somewhere. 

Anya entered her home as quietly as a mouse, however, she was still greeted by the raspy "Welcome home!" She muttered a "hello" back. As she was taking off her boots, she was quickly met with an analyzing stare. She paused and looked back. 

"Why didn't you answer me when I greeted you?"  
"I did. Perhaps you should strain your ears a little further in order to properly hear what I have to say, brother." She replied, coldly.   
"What took you so long? Did you talk to anyone? Did someone hurt you?" His words came out quicker with every sentence.  
"I am perfectly well, thank you for your concern." Anya answered with the same tone of voice.  
"If any man speaks to you, tell him, that you have a boyfriend – no, a fiancé – who will not hesitate to poison him, drown him, or murder him in his sleep."  
"I-"  
"If he doesn't believe you, call me and I'll come as living proof."  
Anya backed away, slightly disturbed but not really surprised. She finished undressing and bumped into...  
"Anya! You must be starving! I recently found this new recipe that I'm sure you'll love!" Strong arms wrapped themselves around her from behind. She struggled out of them.   
"I have eaten already, Valentynko."   
"Ah, okay. I see. Niko? Would you like to try it instead?" Valentyn offered, hopefully.  
"No. If Anya doesn't want it, it's probably terrible." Nikolai hissed.  
"It... it is? Sh-should I throw it out then?" Valentyn began stuttering. Anya turned her head and bore her eyes into her younger brother's.  
"No. I changed my mind. I'll eat it." Nikolai decided. 

Anya stepped into her room and exhaled. That set of interactions was over. Now she could rest. This home was filled with such an unsettling vibe. Nothing would change here, no matter how much time went by. On the contrary, the longer she lived here, the less sane she felt. They were like three minks locked in a tight cage, waiting to be stripped of their fur together. It would only be harder to breathe with every minute. Their sense of union and family would branch out, but in a toxic way. Before they could die, they'd already start biting their own fur. 

She heard a knocking on her room's door then a creak.   
"I will walk you to class tomorrow." Nikolai announced, quietly.   
"No, you won't." Anya growled.   
"I will." He insisted.  
"Reconsider."  
"I shall not."   
"You start school later than I do, yes?"  
"I will wake up earlier."  
"Alright..." Anya didn't seem to have a choice at this point so she might as well speed up this conversation.   
"If you close your door at night I will remove it from its frame then burn it and feed it to the pigeons outside."  
"Understood. Goodnight."  
"Goodnight, big sister."


	2. Coca-Cola

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m still not entirely sure how AO3 works but at least my lazy ass doesn’t have to think of a creative cover for this fic and it doesn’t have any ads *cough* Wattpad *cough* I hope you enjoy. 
> 
> P.S. Sorry that the chapters are so short, I always preferred writing many short chapters instead of a few long ones :’3

Slender fingers and glossy red nails wrapped around an equally red can. It clicked then hissed. Amelia's lips fell upon the rim of the can. Part of her lipstick got washed up by the dark, sparkling liquid but she paid no mind. She laid back on the bench, relaxed, slightly squinting her eyes against the bright sunlight.

"Amelia! What the hell are you doing out here?! You should be in class!"  
"Part of me thought you were a teacher." She took another sip of the coke and shrugged, "could've fooled anyone."  
"This isn't funny! I'm responsible for you!" The speaker's face turned and a few wrinkles appeared between her thick eyebrows.  
"Yeah yeah, squawk all you want. I don't care."  
"Why do you always have to be like this? First you're provoking fights with your classmates, then you're selling nudes to random guys, now you're skipping school- Jesus Amelia! Don't you ever think before you act?! Don't you ever think about me?! The teachers are already assuming I'll start pulling off the same stunts as you do because I'm your bloody sister!" She walked around, paced, pointed fingers at Amelia, at herself, threw her arms in the air and did a whole lot of other movements while Amelia sat and observed the show.

"Don't worry, Alice, you'll finish high school before I do. Then your reputation will go back to zero."  
"Amelia! You moron! This isn't about my bloody reputation! You're so childish! When will you ever-" The rest Amelia didn't hear because she put her fingers in her ears.

A few minutes later, she took a finger out of her ear.  
"You done?" She asked. Alice let out an exasperated sigh,  
"Yes, I'm done," then turned to leave.  
"You should go get a haircut. Those greasy ponytails make you a pain to look at."  
"Says you."

"How dare you?" Amelia gasped, but the British girl had already gone back into the school building.

She assumed she could finally enjoy some alone time again until another figure walked by her bench and towards the school building. She had light, long (very long) hair and was really tall, maybe even taller than Amelia. She was holding a stack of magazines tightly pressed against her chest. Amelia narrowed her eyes and stretched out her neck like a goose, trying to catch the titles of the magazines.  
"Hey! What magazines are you reading?" The American girl called to her. The other simply turned her head and smiled with glowing amethyst eyes, before entering the same building Alice had entered.

 _Weirdo_ Amelia thought to herself. Maybe she should actually go to school now. Not because Alice told her to, but because literally nobody was here to talk to and her can of coke was already empty.

_This is gonna be a long day_

She stood up, crushed the can in her hand, threw it into a nearby bush and sashayed away.


	3. Locker

Anya strolled easily through the hallway. Her eyes were focused on the area before her, making it easier to move through the clogging crowds of students. She stopped behind a neatly dressed student with dark hair, combed into a singular, thick braid that loosely bumped against her chest as she unlocked her locker.

She suddenly jumped back when she opened the locker. Multiple magazines flew out and landed on the ground. Their covers and pages were decorated by undressed or nearly undressed ladies. Shocked, the girl quickly started picking them up as the students around her stared or whispered between each other. As she stood up and hurriedly stuffed them back into her locker, a round face sat upon her shoulder.

"What do you have there, _Rozachko_?" A slavic accent tickled her ear.  
"A-Anya! I swear I haven't put them there!" Rozalija stuttered in panic.  
"No? Then who?"  
"I-I don't know! But they aren't mine! I don't-I wouldn't,"  
"Of course you would. All you think is about nude women, isn't that right?"  
"N-no! It isn't! This is just a huge misunderstanding!"  
"Oh? Is it really? A wave of playboy magazines has just exited your locker. Doesn't that speak for itself?"

The bell rang. Rozalija rapidly changed her shoes and locked her locker. Students were hurrying into class and soon they were all alone.

"You lesbians are confused sluts who are too ugly to find a man so you satisfy yourselves with each other." Anya hissed. Rozalija's eyes were wide and her legs trembled. She hesitantly made two steps forwards but stopped with an abruptly cut yelp as Anya's hands pulled her brown braid.

"I wonder what would happen if I cut that gorgeous hair of yours."  
"N-no! P-please don't," she shuddered and shook her head to the best of her ability, panic overflowing her entire body.  
"Ah? But don't you have a taste for short-haired girls? If I cut it, you would look just like _her_." The taller girl hummed, putting one hand on the other one's shoulder, while using the second to play with her victim's hair. "Or maybe we could dye it? What is your favorite color, Rozachko?"

"I-I really have to go." The Russian girl's hands moved down to Rozalija's chest.  
"Are you going to go to the bathroom with your pretty little magazine, to touch yourself and moan a girl's name?" She began groping her breasts. Rozalija grabbed her hands and tried to pull and scratch them off of herself,   
"No! S-Stop!" The brown-haired girl cried.  
"Ah~ Felicjo...! More~! Harder~!" Anya whined, mockingly. Rozalija struggled beneath her grip.  
"Ah, here she comes. Late yet again. So Polish," a cruel giggle. She pushed her into the approaching blonde-haired girl. 

"Go to your lover, Rozachko!" Rozalija stepped back, quietly apologizing to the Polish girl.

"Your hot Lithuanian girlfriend is pretty clumsy today. Perhaps you should teach her some discipline tonight?" Anya smiled, staring into Felicja's angry, green eyes. They left without another word, but the Russian girl just stood and watched them go.

"I hate faggots." She muttered to herself and trotted to her own locker.

Anya hated thirsty couples in general, but especially the same sex ones. Being gay was a mental disorder. Not only that, most gay people didn't even want to go to therapy. On the contrary, many of them celebrated their illness. Anya was just doing her part in discouraging homosexuality. Plus it was simply disgusting and she didn't want to look at it.

The Russian girl had already planned her future. She would finish high school, get married to a wealthy, Russian man and have as many children as she biologically could. She would fufill the role she was given and serve her country well... unlike Rozalija.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Srry to all those who already got attached to Anya xD Everyone's making fics with bad-guy Russia so I thought that I might as well make a spin-off of that idea. Mmm I'd love to tell you more but I don't wanna spoil anything ;) 
> 
> P.S. I'm honestly quite fond of the grammar police. English isn't my first language, so feel free to correct any f🌸ck-ups I make :,)


	4. Rumors

The next day, Amelia searched the entire school to find the mysterious girl. She was bored out of her mind everyday and this human person could perhaps give herthe adventure she needed. When she finally found her, she nearly crashed into her.

"Hey! I saw you yesterday! I uh, wanted to chat but I think you were busy. I'm Amelia, by the way." The other girl lifted a brow. Yes, now that they were standing face to face Amelia could say without a doubt that this being was very much taller than her.

"Oh? I've heard about you before!" She smiled and chuckled.

"All good things I hope haha"

"Nyet*! I heard about you breaking the dresscode nearly everyday and selling nudes to boys. Perhaps you should work on yourself a little?"

"Yeah... I guess I should do that. Welp, I'm only human afterall. Nobody's perfect. Also, I don't think I got your name yet." She shrugged.

"I am Anya Braginskaya. Did you hear about me before?"

_Holy shit_

She did. She heard that name multiple times even. Even Alice mentioned it to her before.

_The creepy chic with the perfect grades that everyone is afraid to talk to. I'm definitely hanging out with her._ __

"Nope!" Amelia lied.

"Eto harasho**!"

"Hm?"

"I must go now. Goodbye!" She smiled and waved.

“Till tomorrow, maybe?!” Amelia had yet to experience a normal interaction with the girl.

\-----《'☆'》-----

"Anya Braginskaya?! Amelia! Haven't you heard the rumors? She's infamous for bullying two students to the point of them _moving schools_!" Alice yelled, digging her fingers into her head. Shortly after Amelia returned home, likely her entire neighborhood found out about her unusual encounter. The American girl wasn’t particularly well-known for keeping her mouth shut.

"You said it yourself. They're just rumors. People always love to assume things just by looking at someone. If she did these shitty things she'd probably get expelled or something. Relax, she's probably just another one of these socially unlucky cookies. I mean, did you see her? She wears a fluffy pastel pink coat and has huge ass puppy dog eyes." Amelia slurped up her instant noodles.

"In every rumor there is some truth. Someone tossed around the hypothesis that you slept with people for money and those rumors weren't that far gone."

"Wow wow wow! I sold nudes not blow jobs. Those are two completely different things. Besides, two hundred dollars is two hundred dollars."

"Uh... I'm sure that no matter what advice I gave you you'd just throw it out the window and make multiple irresponsible decisions anyway so I'll spare my voice."

"Awesome!"

Amelia's phone vibrated. She took it out of her shorts' back pocket and curiously looked at it.

_Oh! Someone messaged me on IG! Sweet!_

Amelia opened her messages, and noticed a message request from a user she didn't recognize. Her eyes narrowed as she read the message in her head;

_How much would you sell your virginity for?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *нет (nyet) - no  
> **это хорошо (eto harasho) - that's good 
> 
> If by chance I have any Russian readers I'd appreciate if you corrected any of my mistakes. I've just started learning Russian this year and I can barely read cyrillic but I know some basic words/phrases :,)
> 
> Also, I figured out how to do center n italics in AO3 I feel so smart (not rlly xD).


	5. Weird

Anya's schedule didn't usually vary much. She was used to the things she did by now and didn't quite like people switching things around for her. New solutions and ideas weren't her thing, however, she was often forced to adapt to new situations regardless. Amelia was no exception.

She was originally hopeful that she'd successfully scared off the girl the day they met. However, this was not the case.

Amelia seemed to want to play a bigger role in her life than most passing by strangers that chose to move away from her on the bus and in school.

Despite everything, Anya found her quite... interesting.

It wasn't everyday that people she didn't know spoke to her. Everyone who did speak to her had some sort of previous knowledge of her and had to properly prepare before speaking with her. She remembered a silly girl she met two years ago that offered to be her servant in exchange for a laughable favor. The skit entertained Anya though, so it wasn't particularly a negative experience.

The Russian girl decided to no longer ignore the other and give her the attention she desired.

"Hello Amelia! It is very nice to see you once more." Anya greeted the American girl. Turns out, she wasn't a very difficult person to calculate and figuring where she was was a piece of cake.

"Hey! I've been meaning to ask, you have a weird accent. Where are you from?"

"Ah, you Americans think everything beyond America is weird. I am from Russia."

"No, we don't! Ok but... you gotta admit, Russia is weird though. I saw this image of two Russian dudes making out. I heard they were leaders or something. Do you usually greet people like that?"

"I have not put my tongue down your throat, have I?"

Amelia chuckled a bit. "Point taken." She took another gulp of coke. Anya studied the American girl, partially curious and partially disturbed. How many cans of Coca-Cola did this creature down everyday? Did she want to die of diabetes? Even though Amelia was pretty curvy, she wasn't overweight. That fascinated Anya to an extent.

"What's up? Do you want some?" Amelia glanced at her. Anya winced.

"No, thank you."

"You don't want coke?"

"I'm not particularly a fan of it, no."

"You really are from another planet." Anya suppressed a sigh. This might've been a bad idea in the end.

_Hopefully, this will be our last conversation of this tone._

"It must be cold there." The American girl cut the other's train of thought.

"Where?"

"In Russia. It snows there all the time."

"I'm from Moscow, not Siberia..."

"Okay, but you eat pierogi, right?"

"Pielmieni. Pierogi are Polish."

"Stop it, you're making me feel like a total dumbass."

"Better late than never." Anya grinned.

"Hey! I'm not... I um, I know a lot of things like uh... Oh! Space! I know a lot about space!"

"I presume you know the first person to make it to space was Russian, then?" A small smirk appeared on her pale face. Amelia once again felt somewhat humiliated. She shook her head.

"Y-yes but! The first person to land on the moon was American!" She suddenly felt more confident. Anya hid a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Her hair was beige and looked very thick and silky. She suddenly wondered how it felt to the touch. It took her a while to realize that the other had been talking to her, a puzzled look in her amethyst eyes. They were definitely contacts.

_No human on Earth had eyes like that... oh right! I was supposed to ask her about 'the thing'._

"You're a good guy, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, do you have good intentions? Do you try to do good things?"

"Yes, of course. We all do what we view as good, afterall. Only masochists call themselves bad people... but you know, we can always have a discussion on whether your actions are good in my eyes or not."

"I already have one big sister to constantly tell me I'm terrible, I don't need another."

_She is so fast to jump to conclusions_. Anya observed.

"I didn't say your actions were bad."

"Aren't they?"

"Well, perhaps they are bad to you and your family because they have a negative impact on your life. However, some people can appreciate your irresponsible actions and benefit from them instead."

"...and those people are bad people." Amelia concluded.

"Are they? Starving children in Bangladesh are used by big companies everyday to produce the clothes you are currently wearing on your body!" Amelia couldn't help but feel at least a little bit unnerved when Anya's smile grew with every dark comparison.

"Aren't they paid?"

"Yes, but they are paid the bare minimum. In fact, they can barely survive on what they are paid."

"Aren't there like... people that design and make the clothing they sell?"

"Of course there are. However I don't care about the lives of these people while you are too ignorant to think about it." Okay that was definitely not the case. Amelia wasn't ignorant. She just didn't know!

"Um... well... I was asking about the whole good guy thing in the first place because..."

_Because people told me you did some shitty things._

"Because...?" Anya repeated the word, slowly.

_Because sure, you are kinda creepy but you're not THAT creepy._

"Ah forget it." Amelia waved her hand a singular time. She couldn't find the words.

Anya leaned in and put her fingers on the other's cheeks. They were so cold and dry, as if blood wasn't running in the Russian girl's veins at all. 

"Tell me, Amelia."

"Wh-" She nearly jumped, caught off guard.

"Who do you love the most in the world?" What was going on?

"Who do I... I don't know? I mean, I guess I love my sisters and my mom and dad. But like, yeah, I'm single, if that's what you wanted to ask." Amelia suddenly felt like she was at the dentist. She was being asked weird questions and could barely answer them.

"Mmm... I see."

"My sisters are pretty okay, though Alice is constantly pissed about everything I do. I don't talk with Maddie much. She kinda just... exists in her own world I suppose. Wait, why are you asking me all these weird questions?!"

"To get to know you better. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"W-well yes! But not like this." Anya hummed and retreated her hands to her lap.

"Is this conversation over then?"

"Wait, are you angry at me?"

"No. We had a conversation now and we can have another one tomorrow. I think that is how bonding works."

"Did you get that from Wikihow?" 

"What?"

"Nothing. If you gotta go then feel free to." Anya nodded and stood up from the bench.

"Sorry if I made this awkward. You're really pretty by the way." Anya bore her eyes into Amelia. Her pupils froze in place. her face went even paler than it was before. She broke the stare by glancing hesitantly at her phone.

"Goodbye."


	6. Lingerie

Amelia snapped her bra's lock in place and put on a white buttoned-up shirt. It was made from silk and reached her thigh. The material was thin enough to see the red lingerie hugging the girl's curvy body. She left a few of her buttons undone to look a little more desirable.

This was the day. Amelia was going to sleep with a random dude that DMed her on Instagram.

She knew her parents had an important business meeting and would be home late. Alice had a rock concert. Maddie was having a sleepover at her friend's.

Despite everything, Amelia couldn't hide that she was kinda nervous. If, for some goddamn reason, her parents or one of her sisters would suddenly come home, she'd be totally screwed... well, in a different way than she intended anyways. Maybe she should've resorted to a hotel instead.

Amelia groaned as her suspenders once again bent and moved up her thigh.

"If someone told me lingerie was this goddamn frustrating I might've thought twice about this," she mumbled, whilst fixing the annoying accessories.

Ding-dong!

It was him. The girl inhaled half of the world's oxygen and breathed out before walking towards the door.

 _Just be sexy, like you always are._ She told herself before turning the lock and opening the door.

" _Welcome_ ~!" Amelia greeted the newcomer in the most seductive manner she could.

In Amelia's doors, before her eyes stood a figure in tall winter boots, a long, pastel pink coat, beige hair and-

"Anya what the fuck are you doing here?" The American girl asked, a confused and wary look in her eyes.

"Privyet! I was hoping to get a sillier reaction from you." Anya admitted and pouted. "Hmm... your outfit is um... how do I put it? I didn't think you'd find a way to dress more inappropriately than you do every day. But you did! You never fail to surprise me!"

"I'm waiting for a date." The blonde huffed.

"A date?" Anya gasped, surprised. She took her phone out of her pocket and showed her the conversation Amelia had with her 'customer'. "You mean this?"

"Wait- how do you... where did..."  
"You really are naive, Amelko. You would do anything for a dollar or two, wouldn't you?" Anya glared at her, her eyes darkening and her smile growing.  
Amelia burst into laughter.

"Out of everyone in the world, I truly didn't expect _you_ to want to _sleep with me_!" Anya's menacing expression turned into a shocked one.  
"No! I don't want to- this isn't what is going on here!" The Russian girl yelled.  
"Ohhh so it was a prank! Yes, hilarious indeed. I hope the image of me in red lingerie from a sketchy sex shop will forever stay ingrained in your mind."

"That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that I have saved screenshots of your conversation and I will send it around to everyone including your family and friends if you don't do what I ask you to do."  
"...oh. Erm... alright." Amelia has done some weird ass shit before. She doubted Anya's blackmail terms would faze her.

"Your sister, Alice, has a pink flower keychain on her bag. I have a friend that really wants to have it. The plan is, you're going to remove it from Alice's bag and attach it to my friend's backpack!"   
"What? No, dude. Sorry. No can do. It isn't hard to get Alice in a hissy spitty fit as is but when I wanted to look at her flower keychain she nearly murdered me. That is not a good idea. But no worries, there are still plenty of stupid, humiliating dares out there. I bet you'll think of a better one!"  
"But I want your sister's keychain, yes? And you are going to do as I say unless you want these screenshots in your friends' and family's phone. Maybe I'll tell your teachers too. They deserve to know." The small smile once more appeared on Anya's lips.  
"Do you _want_ to get me expelled?"  
"No, I _want_ your sister's keychain."

Amelia sighed, _She won't budge..._

"What's your friend's name?"  
"Rozalija Laurinaitis."  
"Rose-lee...aa? Lawh..ratish?" Amelia tried to pronounce the name, her tongue nearly tying into knots over it.  
"Rozalija Laurinaitis." Anya repeated, looking slightly impatient.  
"Rosly-"  
"No, it's 'Roza-leey-ya'"  
"Rosalya"  
"Ugh, give me a marker"  
"Alright, gimme a sec."   
Amelia spun and hurriedly leaped up the stairs, her shirt flew up ever so slightly, exposing her red high waisted briefs that left little to the imagination. Anya turned her head, suddenly feeling a bit claustrophobic.

She heard some shuffling noises before witnessing Amelia slide down the handrails.  
"I've been wanting to do that for some time now." She confessed as she reached the bottom floor. "Oh, and I couldn't find any markers sooo I brought this." She handed her a pen with red and white stripes at the bottom and a blue top dotted with white stars. Anya groaned and hesitantly took the item.

_Yes, I know you come from America._

The Russian girl grabbed Amelia's hand and began to write something on it. Her eyebrows shifted just a tad upon realizing the pen wouldn't write.   
"Suka blyat," she mumbled, barely loud enough for the other to hear. Amelia couldn't stop a goofy smile before falling into a chuckling, giggling fit.  
"Stop moving! What's so funny?" Anya growled. The other calm down a little and shook her head a little bit. Still grinning, she wiped a tear from her eye. The beige-haired girl, trying her best to ignore her, gently pocked the nib with her tongue. Amelia's eyes widened. 

"It's not my fault your pens are dried out." She added before returning the pen to its owner. The stunned girl looked at her hand. Sure enough, a neatly written _Rozalija Laurinaitis_ was on its back. She turned her hand and saw another clean line of text;

_If you don't do it by 10 AM tomorrow, I will not hesitate._

Amelia looked around. Anya was nowhere in sight. She speeded to the front door, opened it and yelled:

"You forgot to add 'bitch'."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was tempted to name this chapter 'Bitch' but I passed up on the opportunity :,3


	7. Chaos

"Amelia! What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Hm? What do you mean?" Amelia looked up from her chocolate cereal.

"You know what I mean! You're out of your fucking mind. Have you got no shame left?!" Alice yelled.

"You know what they say, the sky is the limit." Amelia groaned while chewing,

"Just two days ago I told you to get your shit together and a day later what do you do? You become a fucking prostitute!" Alice's wail turned hopeless. "Mum and dad probably wouldn't even care because they barely ever see us in the first place! Ughhh I can't take it anymore why can't I just have a normal family?!"

"Can't you go vent in someone else's arms? Don't you have a boyfriend?"

"What? Of course, I do not! There are more important things to do than prancing around from man to man. I actually do my damn best to get good grades and take care of your lazy ass!"

"Then where did you get that keychain from?" Amelia half mumbled. Alice froze. "M-my..." Her face turned bright red.

"It's none of your goddamn business!"

The short-haired girl rolled her eyes. After a quiet pause and swallowing her cereal, the blondie finally spoke. "I didn't actually sleep with anyone last night."

"Yeah sure. I heard that you didn't send nudes either." Alice hissed.

"But that was different, I'm totally serious now! I've been sorta blackmailed into this." Amelia tried.

"Oh, how convenient that you got blackmailed precisely when I had a rock concert, when Mattie had a sleepover and when mum and dad had a meeting. I'm not a bloody idiot, Amelia, I'm not gonna let you fool me again. You can't be trusted with anything!"

\-----《'☆'》-----

"What was he like? Was he young? Handsome? Ooh~! Was he someone from school? Was he muscular? How did he look? Please tell me he was blonde-haired! Blonde haired guys are soooo h.." Feliciana's string of words was abruptly cut off as a pair of hands, covered her mouth.

"I'm really sorry for her." The girl behind her apologized. That was Louise, who quickly pulled Feliciana away. This must've been the fortieth question/comment Amelia had gotten today. She liked some attention but this was too much even for her.

"I..." Her eyes surfed through the eyes of students, some asking her questions, some just watching. Between the crowds of people stood a tall, grinning shadow, dirty satisfaction filling her violet eyes. They locked eyes. Just then did Amelia truly feel frustrated.

_I only wanted to be friends with her and she went on ahead and treated me like a toy._

A smirk appeared on Amelia's face for a second before finally opening her mouth.

"Actually I sold my virginity to Anya Braginskaya!" Amelia announced, pointing a finger at the tall girl with long hair.

_I'm gonna drag you down with me bitch._

The crowd turned to the other girl. Anya's expression shifted. Her eyes widened and her grin retreated. Now the flood of questions and comments was tackling the Russian.

"Why did you do it?!"

"I didn't know you were a lesbian!"

"How much did you pay?!"

Anya hurriedly searched for the American girl, panic in her eyes.

\-----《'☆'》-----

Amelia stopped at the bathroom to fix her lipstick.

"You're clever, Amelia. Very clever. " She nearly jumped as she heard the heavily accented voice. Amelia looked in the mirror to see the same tall girl standing not too far behind her.

"Jesus you scared me."

"It's easier to control the ones who fear you, yes?"

"Funny how that tactic ended up biting you in the ass." She huffed before applying another layer of mascara to her eyes. The American girl didn't pay attention when the water in the sink in front of her started running. She gasped suddenly when her face fell into ice-cold water. Her eyes stung, she couldn't breathe! What was happening!?

She was out of the water and could breathe again. But she still felt cold. The only warmth she felt was Anya's breath against her ear.

"I don't like people who try to mess with me." She whispered. Amelia turned around and shot her fist into the other's nose. "Me neither." She chuckled, hoarsely. A stream of crimson blood began making its way down the girl's large nose. Amelia shuddered as the cold water crept down her hair to her spine.

"What angered Her Majesty? Your outfit is clearly meant for the beach. I only thought you'd like to have a swim." She smiled. Amelia looked down to see red dots appearing on the floor beneath the girl.

The other opened her mouth to speak and just then a teacher walked into the bathroom. Amelia zoomed to the long-haired girl's side and immediately began taking out handfuls of paper towels and pressing them into her face.

"What might you be doing, ladies?" The teacher asked with a raised brow.

"My friend just got a terrible nosebleed and I helped her to the bathroom as fast as I could. Poor she." Amelia quickly explained, trying to look as worried as possible.

"And your hair is-" "in need of a lot of water for me to be able to brush it correctly. You see, it's really electric without it."

"So you came to help Anya with her nosebleed or to fix your hair?"

"I'm a fantastic multitasker ma'am. Anya is in the bestest of hands."

"I see." The teacher replied, not sounding too convinced, yet convinced enough to leave them alone and walk into a bathroom stall. Anya pushed Amelia away before wiping off the remaining blood beneath her nose with a hand. A glint of amusement appeared in Amelia's blue eyes.

"I'm not going to dry your hair if that's what you were hoping for." Anya scoffed before leaving the bathroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not rlly proud of this chapter. I just wanted to quickly push it out before I can post the good sh🌸т. υωυ


	8. Skin

  
"Look who's the fag now," Felicja taunted as she passed by. Anya grabbed her wrist and pulled her against the back wall of the building. She dug her fingers and nails into the Polish girl's gentle face. Her eyes turned into voids and her face darkened.  
"I will _break_ you." She said.  
"I'd totally love to see you try, witch." Felicja tried to suppress the trembling in her voice. Her cheeks started to turn red, then purple, then little drops of crimson started falling down Anya's fingers.  
"It's only skin. It will heal. But your stone heart, it will never heal. It's gonna stay like that forever." Tears of pain began gathering in her green eyes as Anya's nails slowly moved down. 

Anya flinched as something hard hit her back. She turned her head and looked around, then down. A Coca-Cola can sat next to her foot. She shook her head. 

A new voice spoke: "I've always wanted to be a hero."  
Suddenly, a pair of arms around her waist pulled her back. The Russian girl grunted. She tried to kick away her attacker but they seemed to know exactly how to dodge.

Felicja gave her a final glance before walking away. Anya was finally free. She turned to look at none other than Amelia.  
"She called me a fag."  
"You're not the victim here Anya."  
"Aren't I? I think two against one is more than unfair. Perhaps Miss America should start minding her own business. Don't you have some 'private sessions' to attend to?"   
"We both know what actually happened. You don't have to play dumb with me."  
"Oh, but you did purchase the necessary apparel for the event and you opened the door."  
"So what if I did? Jesus, you seem more worked up about it than me. Sorry that it didn't go as you planned it to. Maybe you'll think twice before doing something from now on." Anya smirked at the remark.  
"Look who's talking." The American girl held back a sarcastic come back. 

_You're stronger than this, Ame._

"Wanna tell me about the two students that switched schools because of you?"  
"I'd love to! If only I knew what you were talking about."   
"I'm talking about you being a bitch to people."   
"No, no, no. I am no one's bitch. You, on the other hand..."  
"So you didn't harass anyone?"  
There was a moment of silence.  
"'Harass' is a strong word. I don't like it." The Russian girl decided.  
"But you-"  
"However since we're already using it, I'd like to ask _you_ to stop harassing _me_." Anya's tone suddenly changed from rough and mocking to desperate and whiny. She now sounded like a little child.  
"What?!" The blondie exclaimed, hardly believing her ears.  
"People started calling me names ever since you accused me of being a lesbo."  
"I didn't accuse you of-"  
"I don't appreciate you spreading misinformation about me. It hurts my feelings."  
"Your feelings?" Amelia repeated, half-laughing.  
"I can't stand this harassment anymore! I am going home!" Anya spun dramatically and marched away.

Amelia was left confused. Anya was a pretty bad person, she didn't doubt that, however the blondie still didn't understand why she suddenly got so defensive. It was as if she was trying to convince her that what she just witnessed had been merely a hallucination. _Is she trying to lie to me or herself?_  
She blinked, giving that another thought.  
_Why is she even so offended over..._  
She recalled the first words the short girl said.  
"Look who's the fag now," she whispered. "Huh..."  
_I wonder..._

Felicja hopped down three stone stairs and leaned on the handrails. Four pink bandaids stuck to both her cheeks.   
"You seem pretty cool but like, I totally don't understand why you slept with that fuckface. I don't know whether to despise you or respect you." The Pole said with a slightly familiar slavic accent. She then began struggling to remove the wrapper from her lollipop.   
"I mean, respect would be kinda neat." Amelia chuckled. "And Anya, I think she's just kinda conflicted with herself."  
"Pff, tell me something I don't know." Felicja huffed before popping the lollipop into her mouth.

  
"Why do you guys hate each other so much anyways?"   
"I dunno about her but... I convinced Roza to skip a few lessons and hang out in the bathrooms with me once. I had some pocky with me then so we played. All of it was gone in a minute but um, I guess things got a lil heated and we ended up making out. It was fun, until our Siberian snowflake arrived. She like, took photos of us and beat Roza up. I tried to defend her but Anya threw me against a heater and I had to go to the hospital with this baby." Felicja lifted her front bangs to reveal a few stitches going from her hairline down her forehead. "She's still fucking up Roza whenever she can, though fortunately Roza never had to get any stitches."  
"Wait so you are Roza's girlfr-"  
"I am! But what the fuck can I do when witchnose comes along and starts doing shit to her!? I can't fight her, okay!? I'm not tall and strong like you. If I could, I'd kill her! I'd murder her in her sleep. At least she could go see her parents again. Maybe they loved her. Though I doubt anyone ever loved her or will love her. Next time you fuck, maybe strangle her with a rope or something. Then you'd truly be our hero."


	9. Tears

She just assumed she could change everything for Anya like that, she didn't think about whether she consented to that or not. The Russian thought she could dodge everything too, that Amelia would be a fun game to play. Anya felt so dirty. She knew she didn't do anything wrong but it felt like it. She hated the position she was in. Now people would think she became the one thing she despised most.

Her jaw began to tremble, her eyes began to sting. Tears rained down her cheeks like a snowstorm. She felt so cold, so frozen. Whatever she held dear to herself once, the ideas she clung onto, that she swore to protect, were nearly pulled away from her. She no longer knew what to do.

_Dad would've been angry. He would've been so angry at me and my brothers. I couldn't stop myself. They couldn't stop me. He wouldn't have listened to my excuses. He always liked to judge everything by what it looked like. He'd throw me out. Perhaps I should throw myself out. I've proven to be a disappointment to my family. With the reputation I received, finding a future husband will be impossible._

"Hey..." Anya's glittery eyes quickly moved to the direction of the voice. "Are you alright?" There stood Amelia. The sobbing girl wanted to run, she wanted to never have to speak with her again.

"I'm fine." Anya sniffed, turning her head so that the other couldn't see her crying.

"You don't look fine." Amelia observed. She wanted to answer with something sarcastic, but she knew that whatever she'd try to say would turn into a wail. So she remained silent.

Without a warning, she felt a weight against her body. Blonde, slightly damp locks tickled her cheek. Strong, but lean arms held her tightly. It took her a moment to realize what was going on. Amelia was embracing her. Anya's disoriented eyes suddenly felt heavier, as if she just swallowed a sleeping pill.

_Warm..._

She bathed in the unknown sensation, afraid that it'd be gone too soon. Amelia let go of her and looked into her eyes. Anya, the tallest student in class, was now a small and confused girl, trapped in this open space.

"You look like you've seen a ghost. You've never been hugged before?" She then added, quietly "...Or did you actually see a ghost?"

"I saw a ghost." She signed and grinned, trying to cover up the shock she was currently recovering from.

"What!? Where!?" Amelia swiftly looked around. Anya couldn't hide a chuckle.

"You really are an idiot." She murmured, straightening her back and making a few steps forwards.

"That makes the two of us." The other retorted, a hint of mischief in her eyes. Anya groaned.

"I hate you." She said, pronouncing each word carefully, as if talking to a toddler.

"I hate you more." Amelia replied, imitating her tone.

Anya huffed and walked away, trying her best to ignore the snarky face of Amelia that just stood there and watched her go.

After she finally made it to the bus stop and sat down in the bus, the girl couldn't help but feel a little disturbed. She usually didn't cry or at least... didn't let anyone watch her cry.

 _How embarrassing..._ She shook her head. She felt the need for revenge on the other girl more than ever. Although it was accompanied by another emotion.

I don't want to hurt her, I just want to see her angry face. Anya jumped, taken aback by the thought. Is that bad? She put her hands on her chest and gulped. Anya decided to distract herself with her phone. She scrolled through Instagram and stopped at a picture of Amelia, laying down on her side, the 'sketchy sex shop' lingerie on her body, without the white shirt to cover herself up this time.

 _Of course she posted that_ , she thought and rolled her eyes.

The image was a day old, a swarm of hashtags beneath it along with a ' _I'm still free, boys and girls 😉❤️_ '.

_What a desperate hoe._

Anya had been staring at that image longer than she would've liked. When she finally took her eyes off of the glass screen, she saw her stop moving away. She held back a curse as she quickly slid off her seat. She checked her messages (since she had all her notifications muted) and sure enough, there were about fifteen unread texts from her little brother.

" _I'm nearly home. I'm okay. No one hurt me_." She tapped out and sent the message. Although when rereading the last part, she wasn't so sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve been listening to this one song called “Compared Child” by TUYU. I really liked it plus the lyrics inspired me a lil while writing the chapter. I highly recommend it υωυ


	10. Spark

Anya spun the sparkwheel of a lighter with her thumb. It grew hotter with each spin. She tested the lighter once more and finally, a flame appeared. She smiled and released the wheel. She reached into her pocket to take out a colorful fabric on a stick. She held out the stick and gravity pulled down the material, revealing it to be a flag. The flag had six stripes along it. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. She raised it slightly and put the lighter just about a centimeter away from it.

The sparkwheel made soft grinding sounds against her finger.

_Shshk!_

_Shshk!_

The sparks reflected in her eyes. Anya smiled, her finger was about to make the final move.

Suddenly, Anya felt a body tackling her to the ground. Her hand lost the grip of the lighter - but she could barely pay attention to that - when soft lips collided against her own. She felt long fingernails dig into the roots of her hair. Her eyes melted in electric blue pools that eventually hid behind a curtain of skin and eyelashes, on which's tips Anya could see tiny drops of black gathering due to the unnecessarily extreme amount of mascara weighing them down. This frame of a moment seemed to be lasting way longer than it should have.

Anya blinked open her eyes and sat up in her bed, astonished. She put a protective hand over her lips.

 _What_ was _that?_

\-----《'☆'》-----

Anya felt a quiet presence behind her. Why couldn't her stupid brother leave her alone?! She didn't need a goddamn bodyguard wherever she went. She felt more attacked than protected with him around anyways.

"Hvatit pryeslyedovat' menya*!" She hissed.

"Hm? Could you say that in English?" She spun around to face Amelia and her electric blue eyes.

_I thought this day couldn't get any worse,_ Anya thought.

"What may I treat you with today, Amelko?" She smiled warmly, though sarcasm was present in the depths of her tone.

"I decided I'll hang out with you a bit so that you don't cause any trouble, alright?" Amelia flashed a bright white toothy smile back. Anya did everything she could to hide how pissed she was.

"I'm perfectly fine, thank you." She answered.

The bell rang. The Russian had never in her life been so happy to go to class. She sat down by a desk and sighed, relieved. 

"Do you have a spare pen? I left mine at home." Anya jumped in her seat. Sure enough, Amelia was sitting right next to her, _smiling_.

"I'm pretty sure this isn't your class." The beige-haired girl pointed out.

"It is now."

"What did you..."

"I transferred to your class."

"Did you blow the principal now?!" Anya gasped.

"Shhh! Don't be so loud. My parents just know some people." She pressed a finger to her own lips.

Anya rolled her eyes.

_Sure they do..._

She shuffled through her pencil case and tossed Amelia a colorful pen. Amelia took a closer look at it.

"Oh, fuck you."

Anya couldn't hide a chuckle.

"You know, I had a really wacky dream last night..." The blonde haired girl began.

"Shhh! I don't care! I'm paying attention to the lesson." Anya shushed her.

"Mmm fine..." Amelia mumbled and started doodling in her notebook.

The Russian girl slightly tilted to the side as if to catch a better glimpse of what was being written on the board.

"That looks terrible." She whispered to Amelia and, still following the board with her eyes, placed a finger on Amelia's scribbly rocket ship.

"Oh shut up. Not like you could do any better." The American girl groaned.

Anya smiled, exhaled the air in nearly a chuckle and finally glided her amethysts towards Amelia.

She ripped a double sheet of paper from the middle of her notebook and ran it over in a series of strokes with her pen. After about five minutes she turned her paper and pushed it towards her classmate.

" _That_ is how you do it."

"Yours looks much worse than mine! The nose is so small and the engines have a weird shape."

"There's clearly nothing wrong with my drawing. Sharpen your own art skills before critiquing someone else's."

"I don't need to have amazing art skills to say that your shitty drawing is shitty!"

A short-haired girl wearing a pink flower pin turned to look at them. Her eyes were dark, almond-shaped with a streak of amber at their core.

_That pin looks like Alice's keychain_ , Amelia realized.

"Excuse me, could you please be a little more quiet? I would really appreciate it." She asked, quietly and politely, mispronouncing all the 'L's.

"Oh my god." Amelia stared at her, in awe. "Are you gay?"

"W-what?" The other girl suddenly jumped up in her seat.

"I think you might be dating my sister and if you're not, I'm free after school."

"H-how could you say such vulgar things?! That is completely inappropriate and out of my comfort zone!" She turned red and rapidly went back to noting the teacher's words, seemingly more irritated.

"She's so cute."

"You're revolting."

"Y'know maybe I'll sit with her during the next lesson instead of with you." Amelia snapped. Anya's eyes darkened.

"Great, at least it'll be calmer without you around and I'll be able to focus on my work."She huffed, seemingly unbothered.

"I'm sorry for being such a distraction to you~" She hummed, teasingly.

"Don't twist my words, Amelko."

The bell rang.

"Welp, I'm going to catch up to the cute Asian girl. Brb." Amelia turned but was stopped by a hand grabbing her arm.

"No you're not." Anya said, darkly.

"Oh right, I forgot to give you back the pen."

Amelia handed the ballpoint back to Anya. She studied it one more time and read the "I ♡ Putin" written on it. When she looked up, the girl was already gone.

 _She's one of them._ She thought. However, strangely enough she didn't feel the same disgust she felt for Felicja and Rozalija. No, she felt something stronger. An unknown frustration and inner turmoil filled her suddenly.

She's probably looking for money again. What else could she want? What kind of relationship could two homosexual females want? There's no love in this ideology-driven mistake. There could never be.

_She's going to get into trouble again. I shouldn't have let go of her arm._

_If I could only do something to grab her attention..._

Anya scanned the hallway for the weirdest looking student. She got a glimpse of a certain student who didn't seem to have anyone to talk to and looked genuinely pretty nervous and terrified of her surroundings already.

_Plus she has that same stupid look on her face as Amelia._

The Russian girl sat down and stretched out one of her legs particularly far. Amusement filled Anya's eyes as she watched the student trip over her leg onto the floor. She dragged her across the floor by one of her ponytails. The other groaned slightly. Anya looked around.

"Still nothing." She mumbled before standing up and slapping her victim across the face. Suddenly Anya felt a punch to her nose and a kick to her stomach. She looked up to see two blue eyes piercing through her.

"That's more like it." Anya grinned. "I almost thought the hero was on vacation."

"That's my sister, fuckface. What problem do you have with my sister?" Amelia growled with that same dangerous look on her face, if not more this time. Anya enjoyed that look, because it felt the realest out of all of the American girl she's seen so far.

"The sight of her bothered me." The beige-hair replied. Amelia threw her against a wall. Their faces were millimeters away.

"Don't ever touch my family, got it?" She warned. The blondie finally let her go and added, half to herself, "Get a better hobby." Anya raised her eyebrows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Хватит преследовать меня (Hvatit pryeslyedovat' menya) - Stop following me


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kitto watashi wa itsudemo sou tsugi hagi kurutta matoryoshika~ ( ^ω^ )
> 
> (This is the longest chapter yet. Holy sh🌸t. Also excuse me if the pacing seems off. I'm hungry rn I can't think straight. TwT)

Anya had been acting strange recently (not that she wasn't always acting strange, she just acted particularly strange now), Amelia was pretty curious to find out what it was. She couldn't care less about her, she just felt nosey today (plus the idea of protecting cute girls from a bully did slightly boost her ego). Generally, she decided that her spending time with Anya was beneficial to everyone.

As the final bell rang, Anya quickly stood from her seat and left in long, fast strides. Amelia noticed the girl's small backpack pocket was open and something fell out of it. But before she could tell her, the tall girl was already gone. The American girl sighed and picked up whatever it was laying on the ground. She took a closer look at it.

 _Bandages._ Amelia narrowed her eyes. _What would she need bandages for?_

Amelia ran down the hallway and caught site of Felicja.

"Did you see Anya?"  
"P sure she already left." The other huffed, unimpressed,  
"Aw, crap... She dropped something."  
"Why are you like, so fixated on her?" Amelia paused at the question. She tried answering it in her head.

_I just think having a rival and saving the day is fun. You wouldn't get it though. You are better off thinking I just slept with her._

"I'm not. Sorry, I gotta go now." She shook her head and headed towards the exit.  
"There were these two girls. One came from Latvia and one came from Estonia. They both went to this school last year, but after a few weeks, one of them suddenly left, then the other left. Teachers said they just didn't like the school, but everyone totally knows what actually happened." Amelia was paralyzed once more. Her curious-catness woke in her and suddenly, she wanted to know _more_. She stared at her in awe.  
"How do you-"  
"You can say that I like to keep up with school gossip. You wanna give her back this thing right?"  
"Yeah, that's the plan..."  
"Want her address?"  
"I'm not even going to ask you how you know that."  
"I'm collecting information about her until I'll finally be able to do something with it. You could totally help me." The American took a step back, a bit shocked.  
"Whoa, no way, dude. I wanna kick her ass just like anyone else but this? It's really not my thing."  
"You want her address or not?"

_Woah, I'm having a sense of deja vu._

"No, pal. Sorry, this isn't a good idea. I've learned my lesson doing this stuff already." She decided with a smile, proud of her own words.

_Good job, Amelia. No one will be able to tell you that you're desperate, easy, or gullible. Take that, Alice!_

"I can tell you about her brothers, her background, her parents, her romances, her number, whatever you want. I only need a few pics, that's all. You're not gonna get in trouble." The Polish girl begged, tugging at the taller girl's arm, desperately.  
"Why would I even want any of that information?!" Amelia raised her arms, frustrated. Felicja gave her an innocent look.  
"Don't you?" She asked, simply. Amelia gulped, looked around, and sighed. Shame filled her as she opened her mouth to say her next words,  
"What do you need?"

_It's the last time, Alice, I promise._

\-----《'☆'》-----

A tall, young-faced boy, opened the door. He had an angry and highly annoyed look on his face. Amelia hesitated, thinking for a moment that maybe this isn't the right address.

He turned his head and yelled something in Russian. Someone in the back of the house yelled back. The boy turned back to Amelia.  
"You have the wrong address." He growled.  
"Oh... Yeah, I thought so." She replied but ended up talking to the door. The American girl sighed.

_I should've known... Felicja probably just wanted revenge on me. I'm so dumb..._

The door opened once more, this time, a different boy, well, probably more of a man at this point stood in them and said something in Russian before holding out a few dollars. Amelia opened her mouth, a tad awkward,  
"I-I don't really speak..."  
"Oh! My apologies. My brother said you are a sex worker, I heard the job is very tough and I thought I'd give you something for your hard work. I know it's not much and I don't want anything in return..." Amelia suddenly turned red and protectively crossed her arms against her chest, embarrassed.  
"No, no, no! This is a huge misunderstanding! I was just looking for a friend of mine and was told she lives here. I guess I was just given the wrong address. Sorry, but do you perhaps know where an Anya Braginskaya lives?" The man's face turned surprised before a huge smile lit his face.  
"Oh! Anya finally has some friends! How wonderful! Please do come in! It's so good to see you!" He gave her a tight bear hug, Amelia had trouble breathing for a moment as she gently returned the embrace.

"She's going to have to explain herself." The younger boy growled. The older one of the two put a hand on the other's shoulder.  
"My name is Valentyn, and this is my younger brother, Nikolai. Please accept my apologies for him, he's a little nervous around newcomers, but inside, he's actually a very loving person. Let me show you to Anya's room. She's a little busy right now, I'm sure she'll be delighted to see you surprise her with a visit."  
"Yeah, she'll definitely be." Amelia smiled, trying to look enthusiastic. Valentyn gently opened the door to Anya's room and gave her a warm beam before quietly backing away. The American girl nodded and mouthed a _thank you_ before cautiously entering.

The air in the room seemed to be filled with a whimsical aura, Amelia was taken aback. She felt invasive but also mystified as if entering a foreign sacred area. She looked around, spotting a painting of a sunflower, a small, but comfy looking bed, and many, so many oddly-shaped dolls were scattered around shelves, floors, and stands.

_Aren't those... matryoshkas?_

This place was so tidy as if it had never been touched. The only messy thing she could see was a small, red stain next to the foot of a table. A rabbit-sized, halfway colored, wooden sculpture sat on the edge of said table. Anya stood on her knees beside the wooden doll. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, her hands and apron were covered with streaks and splatters of paint of all shapes and sizes. Her eyes were half-closed and concentrated on the act, her lips were parted as she slid her small brush against the matryoshka, one short stroke at a time. The action looked almost spiritual, as if she was praying to the matryoshka doll, rather than simply painting it. Anya pursed her lips while stroking the doll's small mouth with red paint. Amelia thought that at this moment, the creator and her craft looked nearly alike.

"Uh, am I intruding?" Amelia asked, uncertainly. Anya froze and turned her head, a dot of blue paint laid above her brow.  
"Yes, you are." She answered simply.  
"That's really cool can I have a look?" Amelia reached out a hand. The Russian girl smacked it away, leaving a mark of green paint on the short-haired girl's hand.  
"No touching. What do you want?" She hissed. Amelia took out a roll of bandages from her jacket's pocket.  
"You left this at school yesterday and since there's no school tomorrow I brought..." The blondie noticed now, without a coat or scarf or turtleneck or hair covering her neck, a gallery of scars and bruises covering Anya's entire neck. "...it to you." Anya wiped her hands in a paper towel and snatched the bandages from her. She rapidly began to wrap the bandage around her neck.  
"Do you want me to... help you?" Amelia offered, quietly.  
"No touching me either, fag." She growled and took out a pin and secured the bandage with it, then added, "Put some clothes on."  
"I... do have clothes on?" Anya stood up and rapidly rummaged through her closet, pulling out a black turtleneck from it. She tossed it to Amelia.  
"In this house, we don't flash people. And also if you get this sweater dirty I will break off your nails."  
Amelia nodded and hesitantly put on the sweater. It was a little big on her. It reached halfway down her thigh and drowned her hands. She rolled up the sleeves of it. It smelled like black tea, bread, faintly of deodorant and bit of something else; something sweet, flavorful and soft. Anya's sweater simply smelled like Anya.

"Do my boobs look as good in this as yours do?" Amelia asked, teasingly. Anya inhaled sharply and did her best _not_ to look at her.

"It is hard to rate something you do not have," Anya replied, as monotone as she could.

"Bold of you to say that." She sneered back.

"Weren't you 'complimenting' me just a while ago?"

"I was just trying to be nice." Amelia shrugged, looking everywhere but at Anya's eyes.

The door creaked a little bit as Valentyn quietly walked into the room with a tray in his hands.

"I brought you two some tea and cookies. If I can get you anything more please let me know." Amelia's eyes sparkled. She shifted around in excitement and anticipation, her gaze following the tray that was being placed in front of her.  
"Oh my God!! Did you bake these?!" Amelia quivered.  
"Yes, I did." He confirmed, with a smile. The American girl pounced on the cookies like a starving wolf. The cookies had a soft but crumbly texture, bits of milk chocolate between the crumbs melted in her mouth, she could even taste a hint of salt that balanced out the sweetness. Amelia closed her eyes and hummed.  
"They're sooooo good~ I wish I had an older brother who could cook. You're so lucky!!"  
"I don't need an older brother to bake for me. I can do so myself. Do not leave crumbs on my floor. Eat above the plate."  
"Okay, mom." Amelia groaned and reluctantly did as she was told. During the consumption of her third cookie, she suddenly came to a conclusion.

"Wait, you can cook too?" She asked. Bits of cookie hooked themselves above the American girl's red lips.  
"Of course! I can cook, bake, clean, do laundry, sow, make tea, coffee..." She trailed off.  
Amelia gave her an awkward look. Anya seemed puzzled.  
"You can't?"  
"Well... I uh"  
"You don't know how to make _tea_?!"  
"My sister usually makes it plus I don't even-"  
"These are common abilities that are practical literally every day. Didn't your mother teach you how to do these things?"  
"Well, when I was small, my parents were always busy so they would hire a nanny to take care of us. She usually played with us buuuuut I don't reckon we ever baked anything."  
"Mothers should raise their sons and daughters not sell their childhood to some unrelated stranger!" She exclaimed.  
"Hey! Don't say that about my nanny. She was really nice." Anya suddenly stood up. She muttered something in Russian and dragged Amelia out the room by her ear.

"Hey! Stop that! I'm not a little child!" The blondie yelled.  
She nearly crashed into Nikolai who was standing on the other side of the door, observing with piercing eyes.  
"I'm occupying the kitchen for thirty minutes. Do not bother me." Anya growled to her frightening sibling, who seemed unfazed.  
"Why is she wearing your clothes?" He hissed.  
"So that you don't confuse her with a hooker. Go do your homework."  
Amelia made a pleasantly shocked and victorious face before she stuck out her tongue to him. Nikolai's nose wrinkled as if he was looking at something fairly disgusting.

"I thought I heard you say that you are not a child." She noticed a trace of amusement in her violet eyes. Amelia fiddled with her fingers and circled the white ceiling with her eyes. She answered without looking at her,  
"Oh, right. Forgot about that."


End file.
